View first appearance court proceedings live on SunSentinel.com

First appearance court, also called bond court, is held at the county’s main courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale and is where a person charged by police with a crime is brought before a judge, who will determine whether there was probable cause for the arrest.

Arrestees who are held in four Broward County jails appear on video before the judge, who may ask questions to gauge a person’s ties to the community and ability to pay bond.

The judge also decides whether an arrestee — who is innocent until proven guilty – should be set free until trial or, because of the nature of the charges, be held in jail.

Up to 200 police complaints may be heard by a judge each day, for offenses that range from disobeying a stop sign to domestic violence and murder.

Most often it's Broward Judge John Hurley on the bench. An assistant public defender acts on behalf of anyone who cannot afford a private attorney. The assistant public defender or a defense lawyer and Assistant State Attorney Eric Linder don’t often appear on video, but their voices can be heard addressing the judge.

Witnesses, lawyers and family members who may speak, in support of either arrestees or the charges against them, are usually out of camera range unless they are called up to the bench.

Occasionally, the judge will "go to sidebar" and mute the audio when discussing confidential matters.

Proceedings will stream live online from 8:30 a.m., seven days a week and on weekday afternoons starting 1:30 p.m., except on Fridays when the afternoon session begins at 1 p.m.